Summer Scholar
by hismariposa
Summary: Bella is a rising high school senior attending a university's summer scholar program, where she and her pals are the girls all the others wanna be. Bookish Edward is a fellow scholar, hanging with the nerds, studying philosophy AND Bella.
1. Chapter 1 - Special Delivery

_**Special Delivery**_

We were laughing so hard, we could barely breathe. Alice, Rose, and Jessica were hoisting me above their shoulders, carrying me quickly down the hall. No one else was around; it was after 1am on a school night but we had all done well on exams today and we celebrated after dinner at a nearby bar that didn't check ID.

"No, stop! Guys!" I yelled through my laughter. As I was jostled by their clumsy movements I tried to brush my hair from my face with the one hand that wasn't holding onto a shoulder. By the time I could see around my curtain of hair, we were screeching to a stop in front of a closed door. But they didn't put me down. I held my breath. They wouldn't really do this. Would they?

I was about to tease them about the bumpy ride and suggest a last drink in my room before bed when Alice's tiny fist shot out to pound on the door. My smile dissolved and I began, uncomfortably, to realize they weren't kidding.

I struggled to get down, but they held me hard in their collective grip.

"OK, this was funny, but put me down now. Let's go," I said in a loud, panicky whisper, hoping that no one was home to hear me on the other side of the door.

"Not a chance, Bel," said Jessica. "This is going to be too funny."

"Seriously? You think this is funny? " I fumed, as I wriggled against them. "Come on! We're going to get in trouble waking up an RA, and it doesn't seem like anyone's home anyway."

Just then, the door in front of us began to swing open. The girls didn't wait for an invitation; they barged ahead into the mostly dark room and dumped me on the first bed. As I tried to get my bearings, they dashed back out the door.

"You're welcome, Eddie!" yelled Rose. "How's that for a special delivery?"

A light flicked on. Now that I could see, I rolled to plant my feet on the floor, and planned to dash for the door. But as soon as I rose, he was there, blocking my way.

Edward, with sleep-mussed hair in a torn concert t-shirt and plaid pajama pants, stood staring at me. At least he resembled the Edward I knew. But different somehow. Ah, no glasses. I was used to seeing him in thick, dark frames in class. But now, without that barrier, I could see his eyes. They were so many colors; I couldn't begin to count them all. Fern, forest, honey, amber, chocolate – but his expression took my focus from cataloging hues. He looked pained.

I looked behind him to find that the door was already closed. Beyond it, I heard muffled giggling. I was willing to bet if I tried the handle it wouldn't open. Those bitches were making sure I didn't get out.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Airport

Thank the lord, we're on the ground again. Flying is one of my least favorite things in the world. I hate the feeling of ascending and descending, I hate that weird airplane smell, and I HATE sitting next to strangers who might touch my arm on the shared armrest. At least I had a window seat, so only one side of me is accessible to middle seat guy, who kept trying to draw me into conversation. The whole time. Even though I was clearly reading. Ugh.

And more stranger anxiety awaited because an old family friend's son was picking me up at the airport. I hadn't seen him since I was about 7 and he was in high school, but he was the only person in DC my parents knew well enough to escort me to campus. Hopefully we'd recognize each other.

After waiting for seemingly everyone else on the plane to get their gear from the luggage compartments, I was approached the arrival gate area, looking for anybody who might be looking for me. Then I saw him.

Craning his neck to see through the passenger herd, he smiled and waved when he caught my eye. He was, in a word, gorgeous. I would not have recognized him, that's for sure. Tall and broad-shouldered in a fitted navy suit with wavy brown hair and tan skin, he reached out for my arm and extracted me from the tide of travelers headed to baggage claim. "Hi, Bella? I'm Emmett, didn't know if you'd remember me. It's been a long time, I'd say."

"Yes, definitely! Thanks for doing this, I wasn't sure we would recognize each other," I said with a smile as he transferred my carry-on to his shoulder.

"Well, I had the same concern, but your folks sent me a photo. You're, uh, even prettier in person. Definitely not a kid anymore," he grinned as we turned to start walking.

I tried to stop the flow of blood to my cheeks. Wow, is he flirting, and is this ok? He's in his early 30s, if I'm doing my math correctly. I'm a month shy of my 18th birthday. This is weird, right? I decided to ignore it and assume he's just being nice.

"So, I hope this wasn't a big imposition to drive out here," I said. "I have no idea where anything is in the city, I just have the address of my dorm!"

"No big deal, it's my lunch hour, and we're a lot slower on Fridays at the firm," he said. "So this program at GW is pretty exciting. Sounds like a great honor that you were selected, and if you're interested in law, it'd be a great school to look into when you start your applications. That's if you're planning on getting out of Florida for school."

"Yes, I was lucky to get in. My grades aren't tops, but I think they liked my extra-curriculars, and I'm checking it out for undergrad," I answered. "I think I'd like to go out of state, and look into college in a big city. And for sure, law is one of the careers I want to investigate."

"Well, that's my field, so if you have any questions, or want to come by the office to see some real life attorney digs, I'm your man," he said with a wink. "I could take you out to dinner after an office tour one night. I know some fabulous little places. Do you like Italian? Sushi?"

Now it seemed clear he was flirting, and I was feeling nervous. I'd had boyfriends, and I got plenty of looks from men whenever I went out with my friends, but I was by no means prepared for this. I felt around for the bottle of water in my purse, uncapped it, and took a swallow to consider my response. He was so handsome, but, come on, technically I'm not legal. I know his family, but not him. But, I'm about to get into a car with him and he's going to help me get my stuff into my dorm. I need to play this safe.

"That's really sweet of you, and maybe I'll take you up on that once I get settled," I said with a smile.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," he said, then walked ahead of me to clear the path toward the baggage.

I exhaled the breath I had been holding, and followed him.


	3. Chapter 3 - Closer

After a quick lunch at a cafe near the airport, and some more light flirting from Emmett, he pulled his very fast, very small car up to the front doors of Madison Hall, where lots of unloading was happening. While some of the high schoolers in the program had parents giving tearful goodbyes or a taxi driver dumping their luggage on the curb, I had this huge presence of a man, lugging in my bags and then grilling the counselors about dorm safety. Loudly. I finally told him it was ok to leave me, but he hung around a bit more, adding his home and office numbers to my cell contacts (we already had each other's mobile numbers in case anything had gone wrong at the airport), getting the main dorm security number, and generally pointing things out to me that I could easily find myself. It was sweet, but a little intense. His hug goodbye went on a little longer than necessary, and I promised to call him later in the week and let him know if I could do dinner. He gave me a gently kiss to the cheek that felt startlingly sexy because of its proximity to my ear, and my stomach did a little flip when he reached out for and tugged my hand before walking backward to the door. Emmett looked at me like I was a woman, not a girl, and that was enticing... and a little scary. I decided I wouldn't think about how his attention made me feel right now. He had his grown-up life to get back to, and I had a new adventure to begin as a just-for-the-summer undergrad.

As I looked around the lobby for a place to sit and write, I realized I was getting some strange looks from the other high schoolers in the program. Apparently, Emmett had looked so much like a boyfriend (well, man friend since the guy had a sportscar, a suit, and some afternoon scruff on this face) with his hugging, touching, and authoritative concern for my well-being that it looked like we were together. It called to mind the high school girls who would only date college boys, and act so above us as their boyfriends dropped them of at school. If I were interested in hooking up with anyone in the program, he had just made it look like I was off limits. Great. Well, the talent here wasn't looking too special anyway. Lots of boys who appeared to have only recently started shaving and perhaps played a lot of chess.

A counselor was telling everybody to find a place to sit quietly and fill out paperwork, and that shortly the dean overseeing the summer scholar program would come speak to us. After that, we'd have some ice-breakers and games to introduce everyone, and then we'd split up to unpack.

With no more couch or chair space available, I snagged a section of floor (glad to be wearing jeans and sneakers, and not anything I was afraid to get dirty!) near the wall and looked at the thick booklet and forms packet I was supposed to be reviewing. We wouldn't find out our room assignments until we signed on the dotted line, so for now everybody's stuff was lining the perimeter of the lobby. I saw some colorful luggage, some sports equipment, a guitar case, a couple of skateboards, and some other unusually shaped cases. Procrastinating, I tried to estimate the number of kids in the program (40? 50? maybe) and looked for anybody who might be friend material. It was hard to tell, since nobody was talking. But across the floor from where I sat on the opposite wall, a statuesque blond with shiny pink lips and super long legs stretched out in front of her caught my attention. I'd never seen anyone so tall or so stunning in real life. Next to her, a petite brunette with an arm full of bangles jangled every time she moved down a line to fill in her form. It made me giggle. She looked up at me, startled by the noise. When she realized I was laughing at her unintentional music, she grinned and dramatically shook her arm in my direction. The blond looked at her, then at me, and smiled as well. I thought maybe these girls would be my friends.

Just then a girl plopped down next to me with a loud grunt and blew her bangs out of her face. She was so close to where I was sitting, I couldn't ignore her presence, so I turned to her to introduce myself. I never got out a syllable.

"Hi! I'm Jessica," she said brightly. "My friends call me Jess. My plane was delayed and my parents were like, freaking out, so I had to call them the minute I got here and that's why I'm late to this meeting. Did they start yet? Has anybody spoken to the group? Do you have your roommates already? Are the rooms nice? When do we eat?"

I was amazed that anybody could ask so many questions, so quickly, of a complete stranger. She seemed like she was really worried about being left in the dark, so I rushed to reassure her that she'd only missed quiet paperwork time. And then the counselor shushed us because the dean was on his way in. I looked up when I heard the sound of dress shoes clicking on the floor, and saw an older man in a sport jacket at the front of the room. He spoke for some time about the program, the history of the university, and his expectations for us over the coming eight weeks. Then he announced he had a gift for all of us, a copy of the recently published hardcover book about how George Washington University came to be, and its traditions. Boooring. He called on someone nearby him to start passing out books from a big box.

When the messy-haired boy with the books came around, he tilted the box downward toward us so each person could reach in and grab one. While I was getting mine, the box slid down his body far enough that I saw his shirt. A Joy Division _Closer_ tee. What?! I had the same one in my suitcase, but I had never seen anyone else with one. My mouth dropped open. I realized I'd probably meet some people in this program with whom I shared some common interests, but I was beyond excited to see someone who seemed to have the same musical tastes. The boy, who now had the box well in hand, was waiting on me to move on as I peered up at him. He was pale and looked fairly thin, wearing plaid shorts and Vans with the black t-shirt. I noted his unusually-colored auburn hair, but his eyes were hidden behind thick, black frames, and he wasn't looking at me directly. In the background, the dean continued to speak about grades and credits for our summer courses.

"I love that album, but I've never seen anybody else with that shirt!" I whispered to him as I finally pulled my book from the box.

"Then you don't get out much, " he whispered back with a smirk and an accent I couldn't place as he swiftly moved the box in front of Jessica.


End file.
